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India's central bank gold stockpile tops $100 billion due to surging bullion price

India's central bank gold stockpile tops $100 billion due to surging bullion price

India's gold reserve has crossed $100 billion for the first-time, according to Reserve Bank of India data. The price surge in the global market helped the reserves reach this milestone, even though the central bank purchases have slowed down sharply.

The Reserve Bank of India reported that India's gold reserves rose by $3.595 Billion to $102,365 Billion in the week ending October 10 while total foreign exchange reserves fell $2.18 Billion to $697.784 Billion.

According to traders, gold's share in India's total reserve has risen to 14.7% - the highest level since 1996-1997.

The gold share of India's foreign currency reserves has nearly doubled in the last decade, from below 7% up to almost 15%. This is due both to central bank accumulations and a rise in bullion prices globally.

This has led to the RBI reaching the milestone of $100 billion despite the marked decline in its gold purchases during this year.

According to World Gold Council figures, the central bank only bought gold four times in the first nine month of 2025 compared with nearly monthly additions in 2024.

The cumulative buying between January and September was just 4 tons. This is a sharp drop from 50 tons during the same period last year.

Kavita Chacko is the research director for India at World Gold Council. She said that the share of gold has grown significantly in India's reserves due to the increased value of gold.

The gold price has risen by about 65% since 2025. This is due to a powerful mix of macroeconomics, institutions and psychological factors.

Global central banks are continuing to accumulate gold in order to diversify their reserves away from the U.S. Dollar. This trend is a result of increased geopolitical risk, pressures due sanctions and dedollarization.

India is the second largest consumer of gold in the world and imports are necessary to meet this demand. Indian culture is deeply rooted with the tradition of buying gold, as it's a status symbol and an investment.

(source: Reuters)